Flexcars disappear! A de-car-ing conundrum

Suddenly, my car-sharing program is gone! The Santa Monica Flexcars that I could book instantly in case I ever needed a car last-minute have been removed, thanks to the recent merger between Flexcar and Zipcar.

Apparently, Flexcar vehicles all over Los Angeles have been removed -- and not replaced with Zipcars. Only the cars in locations near universities -- USC, UCLA, Pomona, UCSB, UCSD and UCI -- remain.

I'm especially shocked that the cars were pulled out of Santa Monica. Unlike other areas of L.A. where cars sat unused, the Santa Monica cars were often booked up -- and commanded a $10-an-hour rate while other, lower-demand areas cost only $5-$8 an hour. Plus, at a Santa Monica city transportation workshop late last year, the city's presentation touted car-sharing programs as one of the solutions for our transportation issues -- even using my pictures of Flexcar in their Powerpoint!

On the one hand, I'm sort of freaking out. Basically, I used Flexcar for last-minute events and emergencies. Actually, no car-requiring emergencies have even come up, so really, I only booked a Flexcar when I decided to go somewhere far off at the last minute. But suddenly, I'm afraid I'll be "stuck," unable to get around L.A. like a "normal" person.

On the other hand, I used Flexcar -- when I had it -- less than once a month. Most of the time I walk, bike or take the bus. When I need a car, I usually know well in advance, rent one for the day from Enterprise and run all far-flung errands at once.

Is the stress and expense of owning a car actually worth the one trip I need to make every 40 days or so? After all, I can always call a cab...

The turn of events is throwing a wrench into my de-car-ing efforts. I have some thinking to do. Got advice?

Photo by Siel

Comments

[m]

This is really disappointing to hear about. I would have dropped my car had a Flexcar ever appeared in the San Fernando Valley. I had been checking up on the Zipcar site to see if they by some chance they planned for one in the SF Valley, but no, instead they took most cars away.
And... also.. honestly, I went to college in Claremont and didn't have a car for 3 of my 4 years as a student and I don't think I would have ever used a Flexcar-type service while I was there even if it was available. If I really needed a car, I was able to cover my needs by getting rides with others or borrowing friends cars. The annual/application fee for ZipCar alone would have deterred me when I could borrow a car for, at most, the cost of a tank of gas (and that rarely was necessary). The other thing about being on some college campuses is that a large number of people aren't even eligible to participate considering you have to be 21!

Maybe some ex-flexcar users just need to get together and try to get back to the roots of how Flexcar started and essentially share a car among friends, although I am not sure how the insurance would work.....

[Joshua]

Wow, that's depressing. As a fellow Flexcar user (2-3 times per month), this really saddens me. I just received my Zipcard in the mail the other day, and have already activated it, but have yet to use their website to book a Zipcar. And I suppose now I'll never get the chance to use up the free $25 credit...

I've never understood how Flexcar placed their cars anyway, and was never surprised they weren't used as much as they could be. I could think of dozens of better places to put them than where they had them, but basically it boils down to placing them in high live/work-dense areas. At one point they had almost fifty downtown, and I wonder how often they were ever used? How many people are jaunting off from work with a Flexcar (I know people live downtown, but enough to support that many cars)? It seems more likely to me that they would be used more often if placed in good locations near some of LA's denser (and more walkable even) neighborhoods (Santa Monica, Hollywood/West Hollywood, Sunset Junction in Silverlake, etc). They should be in places where people congregate... I know LA's never going to be as population dense as somewhere like NYC, and a company like Flexcar has an inherent disadvantage here because of that, but they could have done better (and can still do better than only serving the colleges).

[Kate]

Between cabs and rental cars, at least post-Flexcar options remain!

I have a friend in Philadelphia who gave up his car and set up a "transportation account" into which he puts the money he used to spend on car insurance. He bikes or takes public transportation most of the time, but if he has a trip that requires a car, he's always got plenty of money for cabs or rental cars--and it doesn't hurt his budget.

And it's not just students who use Flexcars at universities. There are staff members who take public transportation to and from work, but may have work needs that require the occasional use of a car.

[Clif W]

This is part of a bigger deal. It's obvious that Flexcar was doing great in West LA, so why would they take it away? Think about it. Why did the EPA reject California's new smog plan...because of a patchwork of rules. And now Bush is stating executive privilege on EPA documents. Conservatives want to give states power, but why not for this issue. The oil industry is doing everything they can to stop society from being cleaner.

[Siel]

m -- I believe under-21 college kids can have parents can sign a form letting them Flexcar.

Joshua -- I too agree that Flexcar's placement strategy seemed off. I heard from some of the people who worked there that a really tough part of the process was actually GETTING a relatively-secure, easily accessible parking spot, period. So the whole weird placement seems to me perhaps Flexcar just put a car wherever they could find a parking spot, without much analysis as to whether that spot might entice users.

Clif W. -- Your conspiracy theory's amusing, but I don't buy it.... The simple fact that Zipcar pulled car out of locations isn't proof that they're controlled by Bush and oil peeps.

Kate -- Maybe you're right re: the cab thing.... I do, however, feel going to Silverlake from Santa Monica is a way-too-long cab ride, even though I would do it in Flexcar.... That said, I haven't been to Silverlake in like half a year.... I'll see how it goes in the next month :)

[Kate]

The rental car option might still work. For example, picking up an economy car from Enterprise on Saturday and dropping it off on Monday would cost about $35 including taxes. Unless the Santa Monica-to-Silver Lake trips are really quick, that's two days worth of car for the price of 3 and a half hours of Flexcar.

Of course, rental car prices and availability varies, but Flexcar availability varies, too--so maybe it balances out.

I do agree that the route you're describing sounds like an expensive cab ride!

[Monica Schenk]

I heard about this sad turn of events though a car-free friend living in Santa Monica. This is definitely not what someone wants to hear, while in the process of de-car-ing.

Fortunately, the 720 will take me to Westwood for the time being. It's a little more trouble, but I'm still committed to living car-free in Los Angeles. I am pretty sure the benefits of de-car-ing still out-weigh the cost of owning a car.

I think I will email a complaint to Zip Car immediately. Thanks for the reminder!

[Jason]

I always noticed in the Flexcar reservation system that there were too many Flexcars in downtown area. They kept adding cars, while it became easier to reserve vehicles. I'm not sure why they didn't simply cut down on the number of vehicles instead of completely leaving.

I hope someone else comes in to fill Flexcar/ZipCar's void.

[Sirinya]

I just found out that Flexcar/Zipcar is reducing its presence in LA. This is really upsetting. Thankfully (??), I live in Westwood, so presumably I still have access to the cars. But like some of those who posted comments, I too am committed to being car-free (not car-less) here in LA. Zipcar was a major part of that strategy. I rented Flexcar whenever I needed to buy furniture and groceries or I needed to get somewhere without transit. I've rented an Enterprise car for the weekend before, back in DC, and one of the challenges with that was locating a parking spot for the car.

[James]

WTF?

So why did they waste money sending me a "zipcard" for if they planned on reducing their number of cars anyway?

So I've paid $35, for year's worth of a worthless "zipcard".

Class action anyone?

[Jessica]

I know I'm late on the posting.

But 1) yes, flexcar had a deal going where at the colleges you just had to be over 18. I don't know if you had to actually have a parent sign or not.

2) I was bummed about the zipcar change too.

3) At the colleges they actually waved all the fees. I'm at USC so I was able to join Flexcar completely for free. The fees definitely would've deterred me from joining. And if you drove a car twice, they would wave your next yearly fee. Zipcar... not so nice. They're being mildly nice to previous flexcar-ers by saying if you drive twice you only have to pay like $15 for the annual fee.

[Jen]

I've seen Zipcar grow and grow and grow in Chicago, where they're adding locations at a seemingly fast pace. It's surprising to learn that they've taken the opposite approach in LA, and have actually consolidated their locations. I hope they'll reconsider, because I'm frequently carless in Santa Monica.